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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING/GUANGZHOU, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) — Inbound tourism to China saw a strong surge during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, boosted by visa facilitation policies and a rich array of cultural and tourism activities in China.
According to the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism, 25 million tourists visited the Chinese capital during the holiday period, with tourism revenue reaching 31.65 billion yuan (approximately $4.45 billion), up 3.6 percent and 4.7 percent compared to the same period last year.
Notably, Beijing welcomed approximately 119,000 foreign visitors, a significant 48 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Their expenditure amounted to 1.23 billion yuan, a 54.1 percent increase year-on-year.
Popular destinations among international visitors included the Beijing Universal Resort theme park, the Palace Museum, the Mutianyu and Badaling sections of the Great Wall, and the renowned commercial districts of Sanlitun and Wangfujing. Duty-free sales in the city exceeded 22 million yuan during the holiday, more than double last year's figures.
Foreign tourists also immersed themselves in a rich array of cultural events during the holidays. In Beijing alone, over 4,200 cultural and tourist events were organized, along with nearly 100 tourist routes covering themes such as the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canal (Dayunhe), and the city's Central Axis, which were popular with both residents and tourists.
Guangdong Province in southern China, a major economic hub, also saw a significant increase in foreign travelers during the holidays, thanks to the country's steadily improving visa-free entry policy.
At Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the capital of Guangdong Province, the total number of travelers leaving and entering China exceeded 350,000 by Wednesday afternoon, up more than 13 percent year-on-year.
Russian traveler Anna Ivanova expressed surprise at the speedy immigration process upon arrival in Guangzhou.
According to her, it took her only about 20 minutes from disembarking the plane to going through passport control. Traveling in China has become very convenient thanks to the visa-free policy.
The expedited immigration process is a result of the visa-free entry policy for Russian citizens with regular passports, which came into effect on September 15. Since then, more than 4,800 Russian travelers have entered China visa-free through Baiyun International Airport, accounting for approximately 66 percent of the total number of arrivals from Russia through this airport during the period.
"We are staffing around the clock, opening all passport control channels, and doing our utmost to ensure a safe, efficient, and convenient screening experience for travelers," said Liu Huifang, an airport border inspection officer.
According to the State Administration of Immigration (SAM) of the People's Republic of China, tourists from 76 countries can now enjoy unilateral or reciprocal visa-free entry, and transit visa exemptions have been expanded to 55 countries. Citizens of 55 countries can visit China visa-free for transit stays of up to 10 days before continuing on to a third destination.
Previously, the State Department Store of China predicted that on average, 2 million border crossings would be registered per day during the holidays.
To make travel easier for foreign tourists, China is working to remove payment barriers and deploying AI-powered translation tools at airports and tourist attractions across the country.
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